


The Course of True Love

by RobinsonsWereHere



Series: I Swear to Love You All My Life [5]
Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Angst, Childbirth, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Future Fic, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Lots of OCs - Freeform, Pregnancy, Teen Pregnancy, Teen Romance, Unplanned Pregnancy, been writing it since july, but some are sweet, set in 2032/2033, so it's looooong, teenagers are shitty, wrote this for nanowrimo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:49:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21587137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinsonsWereHere/pseuds/RobinsonsWereHere
Summary: Lily Lassiter and Jake Spencer are in love. They've been dating for about a year, much to their fathers' chagrin. The rest of their family is pretty much fine with it. What they're not fine with? Lily getting pregnant at sixteen.Oh well. Worse things have happened.
Relationships: Burton "Gus" Guster & Original Child Character(s), Carlton Lassiter & Juliet O'Hara, Carlton Lassiter & Original Child Character(s), Carlton Lassiter/Marlowe Viccellio, Henry Spencer/Madeleine Spencer, Juliet O'Hara & Original Child Character(s), Juliet O'Hara/Shawn Spencer, Lily Lassiter/Original Male Character(s), Marlowe Viccellio & Original Child Character(s), Shawn Spencer & Original Child Character(s)
Series: I Swear to Love You All My Life [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1330910
Comments: 28
Kudos: 18





	1. Crazy For You

Lily Lassiter wakes blearily from her afternoon nap and glares at the clock. Apparently it is 3:52, meaning she’s slept for almost three hours, which is weird. She is not an infant, she does not need a three hour nap. 

Before she can consider this further, her stomach rolls. Almost used to the weird nausea she’s been battling for roughly two weeks now, the teen jumps off the bed and hurries across the hall to the bathroom to vomit into the toilet. Once that unpleasantness is over, she flushes the toilet and shuts the lid purely for the purpose of dropping her head onto it with a groan.

Her mother says she gets her penchant for dramatism from her father- who, of course, vehemently denies this.

The tile hurts Lily’s knees, so she switches to sitting on top of the toilet, elbows on her knees and head in her hands. _Geez, this has gotta be the flu. How long have I had it now? Two weeks?_ Staring at the calendar hanging by the mirror, she narrows her eyes. Yes, she can pick out a date two weeks ago when she’d first been feeling sick, but that’s not what catches her eye. 

She knows two things, as she stares at the calendar. One: today is October 16th, the third Saturday of October. Two: the entire first week of October has little red boxes drawn on it that have not been checked off. Those boxes are Lily’s way of predicting her period.

She’s two weeks late.

It’s not unusual for her self-calculated calendar (the app took up too much storage on her phone) to be off by a few days. If her cycle is particularly out of wack, she might be a week late. But two weeks? Not since she’d first gotten her period. Not once.

Lily takes a deep breath, putting her sharp, logical mind to good use. _Step one: the observations. I’m late on my period, I’m tired all the time, I can’t stop throwing up._ The problem came when there were no logical inferences from the observations. And she can’t find any now, because the facts all point to one thing, but that can’t possibly be true. Taking another deep breath, she forces herself to think it anyway.

_Step two: the inferences. I have multiple symptoms of pregnancy, therefore, I can assume that I am pregnant._

Lily laughs aloud, but it sounds harsh even to her own ears.

\---

_One month earlier_

_The sky was dark and starry, but Lily was making no move to go home. Why should she? The air was cool and smelled of the ocean. It wasn’t a school night. And she was lying in the arms of her best friend since diapers, whom she had oh-so-conveniently fallen in love with. They’d been together for around a year, and it got better every day._

_”I can’t believe you remembered this place,” she murmurs, tilting her head to look up at Jake. Her boyfriend grins and makes his father’s signature gesture- a hand held to the temple, as if he were reading her mind._

_”A Spencer never forgets,” he teases._

_”Okay, seriously. How’d you remember?”_

_”I found a box of my old diaries under my bed when Mom made me clean up. It had a three page entry dedicated to out discovery of the fairy circle.”_

_”It still feels magical, doesn’t it?”_

_”Yeah it does, Lil. Yeah it does.”_

_Lily squirms against him until she’s fully sitting in his lap, then turns for a kiss. Jake beams and kisses her back. She loves the way he kisses her- like he might not get a chance again, like he wants to pour everything he’s feeling into one kiss, and then another, and then another._

_They don’t stop making out, and from her position on Jake’s lap, Lily knows he’s enjoying it. She stops kissing him long enough to shoot him a grin. “Having fun?”_

_Jake rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “Well, yeah. Sorry… normally you’re not on top of me when we do this and then I go home and take a cold shower…”_

_Her grin turns wicked. “Do you like it when I’m on top?”_

_Realizing she’s unfazed about the situation, Jake grins back. “Of course… it’s sexy.”_

_She bites his neck. “You’re sexy.”_

_”Oh yeah?”_

_”Yeah.”_

_“What’re you gonna do about it?”_

_Lily knows he’s just teasing her to make her kiss him harder, to make her laugh and tease him back. But she takes the question a little more seriously. “I think I might prove to you how sexy you are.”_

_Jakes eye’s widen, but so does his grin. “ Do you wanna?”_

_She laughs nervously. “If you wanna.”_

_They both want to. So they do._

\---

Jake is reading _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ when he’s startled by a knocking on his window. His bedroom is on the second floor, but his friends have been climbing in and out of it since elementary school. He’s used to it by now.

“Hey, Lils,” he says, beaming at his girlfriend as he opens the window. “What’s up?”

Lily gives his a quick smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I, um, need to use your bathroom, and, uh, we should talk.”

Jake’s nose wrinkles in confusion. “Those two things seem unrelated.”

Lily looks down, fidgeting. Then she seems to make a decision, reaching into her shopping bag to pull out a box. “Funnily enough… they actually aren’t.”

Jake looks from Lily, who is white as a sheet, to the box in her hand. The box is clearly labeled with two words: **Pregnancy Test**. “Wait a minute… Lily…” he stares at her, wide eyed. “You’re not- you’re not pregnant, are you?”

She shrugs, and then moves to sit on his bed. “I don’t know. I mean, I think I am. That’s why I bought the test, and all. I have no clue what to do but I’m tired and nauseous and I’m late on my period and-”

Jake sits next to her on the bed and pulls her into a hug. “Lily…”

“Yeah?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know what I was gonna say after that. I just thought I should try to help you not freak out.”

She kisses him on the cheek; he smiles and reflexively lifts his hand to touch the spot. Lily smiles back at him. “You’re right… I shouldn’t freak out before I know for sure. It could just be a bad flu. I’m gonna- I’m gonna go take the test.”

She remains seated on the edge of the bed, turing the box over in her hands. Jake takes her hand and squeezes it. “Do you want me to come with you while you take it?”

Her brow furrows. “Why? So you can be moral support while I pee on a stick?”

“No, so I can distract you from the looming cloud of worry with my amazing jokes.”

Lily laughs and shakes her head. “Jake, your jokes are horrible.”

“I object to that!”

She stands and pulls him out of the room. “Okay, enough stalling. Let’s go.”

\---

“Why is the ocean so salty?”

“Because the sand never waves back.” Lily pokes Jake in the side, where he’s ticklish. “Matthew taught you that one in third grade. Do better.”

“Sorry, all my good chemistry jokes argon.”

She hits him.

“How does the moon cut his hair?”

“I dunno, how?”

“He clips it! Get it? Eclipse?”

“Jesus, these are horrible.”

“I have five pages. Where does bad light go when it’s arrested?”

“Where?”

“Prism.”

Lily is so caught up in laughing at how ridiculously proud of himself Jake looks that she almost doesn’t hear the timer go off. Then Jake reaches across her to stop it, and they both become solemn. Lily focuses on Jake, on his hazel-blue eyes and his messy blond curls and the way he looks at her like he loves her more than anything. She does not even glance in the direction of the plastic stick resting on the counter.

“Lil,” Jake says softly, “we have to look at some point.” He takes her hand and gives her a lopsided grin. “We can do it together.”

“On three?”

He nods. “One, two… three.”

They both turn to look at the stick, and the evidence is there, undeniable. Two blue lines, crossing each other to form a plus sign.

“I’m pregnant,” Lily breathes, fighting the urge to slam her hand over her own mouth as she says it.

“With a baby.”

“No, with the alien from _Alien.”_ She smacks Jake on the back of the head. “Yes, with a baby! With your baby!”

At this, Jake pulls her close and kisses her soundly. Lily blinks at him, confused. “What was that for?”

He gives her an adoring smile. “We made a human. That’s kind of amazing.”

Lily folds her arms across her chest. “Jake, we’re sixteen! This is not a good thing!”

He tilts his head back and forth. “You’re right, you’re right. Uh…” he looks around. “Hey, we’re in the bathroom I share with my siblings and I’ve already promised Zoe all my halloween candy if she did the dishes for the weekend I went with you to the music festival, so, I have no bargaining chips left if we get interrupted. Shall we talk elsewhere?”

Lily nods and grabs the positive test off the counter, wincing when she looks at it. “Good idea. Back to your room.”

\---

Later, Jake stares wide-eyed at Lily as she sits on his windowsill, preparing to head back to her place. “So, just so we’re on the same page- neither of us has any clue what we wanna do about this, but whatever we do, it has to involve telling our parents.”

She nods once. “Which is why it’s both good and bad that your mom and my dad are out of town until Wednesday- you get to stay alive but also we have to keep a secret.”

Jake grins, and then frowns. “I don’t know whether to be more scared of what my mom will do to me, or Uncle Carlton…”

Lily leans back into the room to kiss him gently. “At least we’ve got four more days. Love you, see you soon.”

Jake doesn’t let go of her hand until she’s all the way out the window, standing on the roof. “Love you too.”

\---

Marlowe regularly has any combination of seven children tromping through her house. She knows they don’t all come in through the door. And she knows that her own daughter, when she’s trying to fly under the radar, will also climb out her window.

Now, with a sixteen-year-old, Marlowe has to choose her battles. Lily sneaking out to visit with friends she’s known since childhood is not a big enough deal for Marlowe to nag her… except, of course, for when Carlton is out of town. When her husband is away, Marlowe is more careful about everything- locking up the house, being aware of her surroundings, and especially keeping track of Lily. So when it’s just about dinnertime and Lily has yet to return, Marlowe takes up her post on Lily’s bed, facing the window. She doesn’t have to wait long.

“Mom,” Lily breathes upon her return. She looks ashen, and her eyes are wide. Marlowe frowns. _Is she sick?_

“Lily, where have you been?” She asks gently. “You and I both know I don’t mind you running off to the Gusters or the Spencers as long as you’re home in time for dinner.”

Lily steps through the window and shuts it. “I was with Jake,” she mutters, looking at the ground. “We- we were just-” a sound like a sob tears from her throat. “Just talking.”

“Oh, Lily,” Marlowe sighs as her daughter bursts into tears. “Lily, come here. It’s alright.”

Marlowe remembers from her own teenage years the worry felt when a boyfriend asked to ‘just talk’. She contemplates asking what had happened, if she and Jake had fought or even broken up, but Lily is shaking with sobs in her lap. It’s probably best to wait for her to explain.

They stay on Lily’s bed for a while, with Lily crying inconsolably and Marlowe rubbing her back, humming and generally trying to console. As Lily’s sobs quiet, she buries her face in her mother’s chest. “Mom,” she whispers hoarsely, “I’m pregnant.”

Marlowe freezes, her hand stilling on her daughter’s back as she absorbs the information. “Okay,” she says softly. “Alright. You’re alright.”

Lily lifts her head to look at her. “You’re not… mad? Or disappointed?”

Marlowe presses her lips together and quirks an eyebrow. “Well, I’m sure as hell not happy. But you’re a mess, darling. Me lecturing you isn’t going to help anything at the moment.”

Sniffling, Lily nods and sits up the rest of the way. “Thanks.”

“Lily…” Marlowe had given her daughter the sex talk in freshman year, when she’d gone on a date for the first time, but the conversation they’ve got to have now is considerably less hypothetical. Or maybe… maybe the conversation could wait until Carlton was home. “Lily, what would you like for dinner?”

A relieved smile spreads across her daughter’s face. “I think I want chili, Mom. I can help cook.”


	2. I'm Feeling Hopeless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlton and Juliet return from their law enforcement seminar, which means it's time to share the news...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is brought to you by my history teacher spending way too long explaining the annexation of Texas

Jake has not had a good evening. He’s a horrible liar in a house full of human lie detectors. The only way he’d kept from spilling the beans was by staying as quiet as he could. Now it’s late at night, and he’s continuing _A Midsummer Night’s Dream_ when his door creaks open, someone knocking gently.

“Hey, Dad,” he murmurs, turning the page.

“Hey, Duck,” Shawn replies. The nickname is from when he was a toddler- it’s either related to his fluffy blond hair or his grandmother’s use of “Goose” to refer to Shawn. “What’s on your mind?”

“Fairy songs, at the moment,” Jake deadpans.

Shawn sits on the edge of the bed, tilting his head to catch a glimpse of the book title. “Wow, Shakespeare. You’re reading this for fun?”

Jake nods. “Reminds me of when we were all kids and we ran around finding forts and fairy circles.” Of course, this makes him think of his most recent experience in a fairy circle. _This is why you aren’t talking, idiot._

“Well, I’ll let you get back to reading in a second, but I just wanted to check in.”

Jake tries not to stiffen, but does anyway. “Yeah? How come?”

His dad raises an eyebrow. “Jake, I know when you’re keeping secrets from me.”

Jake sighs. “Dad… this secret isn’t mine to tell. I promise it’s not dangerous or anything.”

Shawn’s eyes narrow. “Look at me.” 

Jake holds eye contact.

“Drugs?”

“Never.”

“Suicide? Or other mental health issues?”

“Nope.”

“Abuse of any sort?”

“Definitely not.”

With that, Jake knows he’s passed the test- if it’s nothing life-threatening, his dad will give him privacy, at least for the time being. Sure enough, the older Spencer stands and heads for the door. “Alright, then. “G’night, Jake.”

“Goodnight, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

\---

On Sunday, the Spencers, Gusters, and Lassiters go to play paintball. On Monday they’re back in school for the week, and busy with all that entails. That carries on through the week, and then on Wednesday, Juliet and Lassiter return home. While her mom goes to pick up her dad at the airport, Lily lies in a ball on her bed, frantically texting Jake.

_Hey, so I think I’m gonna tell my dad at dinner tonight. He’s definitely gonna try to call your mom so we should probs tell our families at roughly the same time?_

**Makes sense- dinner works for me too**

Lily frowns as she realizes something. _Wait, your siblings will be at dinner too… I can wait if you wanna wait?_

**No point. They’ll eavesdrop no matter what so i might as well tell them straight to their faces**

A few seconds later, a second text comes through. **If you don’t mind them knowing?**

_the whole fam is gonna know soon enough_

**trueeeee… shit, i hear a car in the driveway. If that’s my mom your dad will probs be home soon too**

_wish me luck i love you_

Before Lily can watch for a reply, voices come from downstairs. “Lily, we’re home,” her mother calls.

Even with everything screwing up her life right now, Lily’s next actions are the same as they have been since she was old enough to walk. She hurries down the stairs and throws her arms around her father as tight as she can. “Dad! I missed you,” she says, her voice muffled by his starched white shirt.

“I missed you too, Lily,” her father says with a smile. “How was your week?”

“Eh. Fine.” She doesn’t look up at him. “School’s good. Jake’s good. We all went to paintball on Sunday.”

He grins and pats her shoulder. “You can tell me all about it at dinner. Maybe use more than two syllables,” he teases.

Lily forces a laugh and pulls away to help her mother set the table. “I’ve got a different conversation for dinner,” she says quietly. “Hey, Mom, are we having grilled cheese?”

\---

Jake is a bundle of nerves, but as he helps prepare for dinner, he relaxes just a little. While he’s microwaving broccoli, his parents are retrieving dishes and silverware. Or his mom is, at least.

His dad plucks at the sleeve of his mom’s blouse. “Jules, I love this purple on you.”

“It’s magenta,” argues Rory, smoothing out a place mat.

Juliet pauses to run a hand over the material herself. “I think it’s somewhere in between.”

Shawn dips his head towards hers, and then they’re kissing amidst a chorus of groans. “Ewwwww,” whines Leo.

“Hey man, how do you think you got here?” Shawn asks. Juliet hits him with a dish towel.

Jake finishes the broccoli and sets it on the table. Zoe manages to carry four full milk glasses at once without spilling. Shawn brings the chicken off the grill, and Rory and Leo set out plates (there’s a Spencer family rule that Mom doesn’t have to do anything after she’s been away for work). And then they all sit down to dinner, and after saying a blessing, Jake takes a deep breath.

“So, um, I have a topic of conversation for tonight…”

\---

“So, Lily,” her mother says, when Lily has gone ten minutes without saying a word, “are you going to clue us in on your dinner conversation idea?”

Lily chews her sandwich slowly. She swallows and wipes her mouth on her napkin. She takes a sip of milk. “Uh, yeah.” The teen regrets stalling with food as her stomach flips. “Um, Dad, Mom already knows this, but… I have news.”

“Good news or bad news?”

Lily shrugs. She looks down at her plate, but that doesn’t feel far enough away, so she closes her eyes. The nausea in her stomach increases. “I’m- I’m pregnant.”

There’s a clatter that might be her father dropping his fork. She doesn’t look up, but fills the silence with her own voice. “I took the test on Saturday. The baby is Jake’s.”

_The baby. My baby._

Her stomach swirls and Lily opens her eyes and focuses on the straight line of the table edge. It doesn’t help. Abruptly, she stands and pushes away her chair. “I’ll be right back.” She rushes to the bathroom and throws up every bit of the dinner she’s just eaten.

“It’s alright. You’re alright, sweetheart. Get it out.” As she has been for the past few days, Marlowe is quick to join Lily, rubbing her back and holding back her hair. “Do you want to come back to the table or should we move this to the living room?”

She doesn’t want to continue the conversation at all. “The living room.”

“Alright, love. Here, come rinse your mouth out.”

\---

Jake has to say two words. Four syllables. That’s it, and then everyone at the table will know the news. Only, he’s pretty much unable to speak around the giant rock in his throat.

On his right, Zoe tilts her head to look at him. “Jake? Are you okay?”

He shakes his head, and then clears his throat. “Lily’s…”

“Coming over tonight?” Rory guesses.

“Going to a different college?” theorizes Zoe.

“Breaking up with you?” Leo’s suggestion is the bluntest.

“...pregnant.”

For a solid ten seconds, the room is silent. This is a Spencer family record.

His mother breaks the silence. “Lily _Lassiter?”_

“Uh, ye-”

Leo, too, regains his voice. “You had sex!?”

His dad bursts out laughing. Jake really has no clue what’s going on. His mom drops her head in her hands. “Shawn. Shawn Spencer. Stop laughing.”

“Sorry. It’s just… that was my first thought, too.”

Juliet’s grumbled response sounds suspiciously like _’boys’._ “Leo, this conversation is not one you need to add to. Jake… what were you _thinking?”_

“Um… I dunno. It was just for fun, yeah? It was… romantic.”

“So romantic that you broke the condom,” Rory jibes. Juliet makes a warning noise, and he shuts up. Jake fidgets with his napkin, not making any eye contact.

“Wait, Jake,” his dad sighs, “I had the talk with you. You’ve been through sex ed. Please tell me you at least _used_ a condom.”

Jake opens his mouth to lie, and then closes it. His parents exchange glances.

“Jake Burton Spencer,” says his mother, “have we taught you _nothing?”_

She’s using his full name now. Jake has to say something, lest he get run over by the Detective Spencer steamroller. “Well, uh, your guys’ anniversary is six months _after_ my birthday, so.”

Another exchange of glances.

“Dude, that’s… really not the same thing,” says his father.

Jake knows. He’d regretted saying it before the words were all the way out of his mouth.

His mother leans forward, resting her chin in her hands as she stares at him. “Mom, get your elbows off the table,” Zoe sniggers.

“Yeah, Jules, this isn’t an interrogation room.”

Juliet gives both Shawn and Zoe a sharp look. “I will send both of you upstairs where you will not be privy to any more of this conversation.”

Zoe shuts up. Shawn looks like he has a response to that, but at another look from Juliet, he quiets. Juliet turns back to Jake. “I am going to give you a pass on that comment, young man. You know damn well there’s a difference between being in a stable relationship in your thirties and being in love for the first time at sixteen.”

He nods. “Yeah, you’re right. I guess that was a pretty stupid comparison.”

His mother gives him a small smile, and his dad takes over the speaking. “Jake, what are you going to do now?”

Jake has a feeling this is a test. He looks his father straight in the eye as he answers. “Keep loving her. Be there when she needs me. All the stuff I was doing, plus being supportive of whatever she decides to do about the baby.”

Shawn holds out his hand for a fist bump. “You know that’s right.”

Before Jake can do more than let out a sigh, his mother’s phone rings. He knows it’s his mother’s because she’s the only one allowed to have her phone at the table, on account of her job. He also knows this call is most likely not about a crime.

The wince as she looks at the screen supports this. With a sigh remarkably similar to the one Jake had just heaved, she answers it. “Hello, Carlton.”

\---

“You have a big decision to make, Lily,” her mother says softly. Lily wants to scream. _I know I have a big decision to make! But I’m sixteen! I don’t even know what I’m doing with my life, let alone a baby's!_

“I know, Mom.”

“Your father and I will be here to help you as best we can, but we can’t make this decision for you.”

“I know, Mom.” Lily shifts deeper into the couch. “I can keep the baby, or I can put it up for adoption, or I can abort it. Right?”

Marlowe nods. “That about sums it up.”

Lily curls into herself. She feels like there’s no way she could keep the baby… but then she starts to think. She thinks about adoption- about going through with this pregnancy, about seeing the ultrasounds and feeling her baby move and maybe even holding them when they’re born, only to give them up. She doesn’t want that. And now that she’s thinking about what could happen if she keeps the baby…

When she catches herself wondering if it’ll have Jake’s eyes, she shakes herself. _I am sixteen. I cannot have a child right now._ But still… she’s not sure enough to make a decision. “Mom, how long do I have, before I have to decide?”

Her mother tilts her head. “Well… when did you sleep with Jake?”

Her father makes a noise, and Lily lifts her head. She gives him a look, her brow furrowing. “Dad, I know you’re not happy about this, but… he was a perfect gentleman. We didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do.”

He groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I should hope not. Marlowe, can you handle this? It seems like girl talk to me.”

“Carlton-”

He’s already pulling out his cell phone. “I have to make a call.”

Lily bites her lip as she stares after him. Her mother gives her arm a squeeze. “Don’t worry, honey. He just needs time to get used to all this. He’ll come around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ngl this fic is angstier than I really imagined. The second half might go through some revisions at some point in the future... hope you liked this chapter, though! leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed!


	3. Running Through Rose Thorns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Lassiters and the Spencers convene in the aftermath of Lily and Jake's confessions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda forgot this was supposed to be up today... oops

Lily sips at her ginger ale, listening to her father on the phone. His voice is quiet and then loud and then quiet again as he paces back and forth in the hallway, but she can hear every word. Well, every word of his side, of course.

“My daughter is pregnant, and I’d like someone to blame for it!”

“Well if it’s half her fault, then it’s half your son’s fault as well!”

“I told you this over twenty years ago, and I’ll tell you again, Juliet- nothing good ever comes of getting… _involved_ with a Spencer!”

Lily tries to stop listening, instead leafing through a magazine on the coffee table. It doesn’t help much. Her father’s millionth comment about the situation being Jake’s fault includes a snide remark about the way he was raised, and then he stops talking. “She hung up on me,” he mutters.

“Well, dear, you were being a bit harsh,” Marlowe says.

Lily emerges from the living room. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I guess I just really didn’t think things through.”

Her father sighs. “It’s a hard thing to do, at your age.”

\---

Jake has never in his life dreaded arriving at the Lassiters’ house as much as he does now. His mother knocks three times on the door and then strides through without waiting for an answer. Jake is reluctant to follow, but Shawn rests a hand on his shoulder to encourage him forward.

Lily is already sitting at the kitchen table, and when she sees him, she looks a little bit happier. Jake tries for a reassuring smile and sits next to her, ignoring the disapproving sounds Uncle Carlton makes. Aunt Marlowe and Dad are standing off to the side of the kitchen, leaving Lily and Jake on one side of the table and Juliet and Carlton on the other. Both detectives are still in their suits from the conference, minus jackets. Uncle Carlton still has his holster on. The kitchen feels distinctly like an interrogation room. 

“Jake,” Uncle Carlton starts, “you know damn well I have never been thrilled about you dating my daughter. But you’re my godson. You’re the child of one of the most important people in my life. And somehow, you make Lily happy. So I was willing to let you two be high school sweethearts, be teenagers in love, and all that. But this is-” he breaks off with a groan of frustration, rubbing a hand over his face. “This is a new low.”

Jake squirms and looks down. “I’m sorry. I do love her.” Under the table, Lily’s hand finds his. She squeezes.

Uncle Carlton is now leaning towards them, his hands planted on the table. “I would sure as hell hope so. And Lily? What about you? Are you happy that you slept with him? Was it worth it? Was it really worth it?”

Mostly-buried insecurities float to the surface of Jake’s mind at his uncle’s words. He looks hesitantly at Lily, waiting for her answer. Her eyes are sparkling like she might cry, but when she speaks, her voice is clear. “Yes, Dad. Maybe we shouldn’t have, but we did. And I don’t regret it.”

Jake gulps as his mom steps forward. “Now, I don’t think this deserves punishment. I think the terror and distress and other emotions you’re both dealing with are more than enough. Of course, this can only go for Jake, but still- having to deal with the consequences of your actions seems like enough to me.” She turns to Uncle Carlton. “Are you good with that?”

He nods. “Lily, I know you and your mother are discussing the decisions you have to make, but Jake, you’ve got some thinking to do, too. And having seen your father react to accidental relationship developments in the past-”

“Carlton.”

Jake’s never seen this particular look on his mother’s face. He’s more than slightly worried.

“What?”

“Do not drag Shawn into this. You know damn well the last time he freaked out about anything of this sort was decades ago.”

“I’m just saying, a young Spencer who has proven to have his father’s decision making skills is not someone I’m putting all of my faith in-”

“Carlton, I think you’re generalizing here-”

“Really? Am I generalizing when I think about how flippant he was whenever you asked him to do something? Am I generalizing when I remember you sobbing in a corner the night I got married? Am I so wrong for not wanting my daughter to go through that!?”

“You are picking and choosing Shawn’s worst moments, and ignoring all the good he has done!” Juliet is yelling now, her icy fury directed completely at her partner, as if she’s forgotten anyone else is in the room. “And another thing you seem to have forgotten, Carlton- Jake is my son too. Shawn isn’t the only one who’s raised him.”

She storms out of the house. Shawn, avoiding eye contact with any of the Lassiters, quickly follows, tugging Jake gently out of his chair. “I guess we should be going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are a lot of Lassie & Jules feels in this fic. It just sort of... happened


	4. It's You and Me (That's my Whole World)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologies are made, as are reassurances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> midterm weeeeeeek so yeah i'm having fun

Shawn is laying half under the blankets in bed, sleepy but too concerned to sleep. “Jules, come to bed,” he murmurs.

She continues assembling her gun, then disassembles it. “I’m too worked up, Shawn. I’ll just lie awake all night anyway.”

“You know Lassie didn’t mean any of that.”

With a sigh, she pads slowly across the room and slips her gun under her pillow. “I know. But he’s a grown man- he should know that that doesn’t make it okay. He still said it, and it hurt. Especially from him.”

Shawn sits up to pull her into him, but though she lets him hold her, her back remains to him. “Shawn, what if he’s right? I mean, we gave Jake the talk, and all, but that clearly didn’t do much. What if we should’ve been more… strict? More clear on the consequences?”

“You know what, Jules? Yeah, it’s possible that there are things we could’ve said and done to help Jake be a little more aware of why he shouldn’t have unprotected sex. But I think his reaction to all of this says more about our parenting than the fact that it happened in the first place.”

Juliet turns to face him, her small smile visible even through the shadows of the darkening night. “You mean how he’s still so gentle and loving with Lily, and how he’s supporting her in this, and being so, so brave?”

Shawn smiles back as they lay down together, his wife curling into his chest. “Exactly.” He kisses her softly. “He’s just like you.”

“Oh, I don’t know…” Juliet smiles up at him. “He reminds me a lot of a guy I know, who is caring and protective of the people he loves… and brave enough to have saved a lot of lives.”

“Well, he is a bit of both of us.” Shawn kisses her again. “I guess that makes him a pretty stellar kid.”

Juliet has calmed enough by now to fall asleep. By the time Shawn says goodnight, she’s already out.

—

Lassiter lies on top of his bed, still clothed. He groans softly, attracting the attention of his wife.

“Carlton,” Marlowe sighs, “I know you’re taking this hard, and I do not blame you for that. But…” she sighs again, and climbs onto the bed. For a few moments, she sits next to him, rubbing his back. “Look, I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but you need to hear it.”

He groans.

“Carlton, when you get frustrated, or worried, or even upset, it looks like anger. It seems like you’re… scarily mad, and even I can’t tell who you’re mad at sometimes.”

“I’m not mad,” he sighs. “Just… upset. And I’m scared for Lily. Whatever she has to do over the next few months is gonna be hard. She’s our baby girl, Mar. I don’t want her to feel any kind of pain.”

Marlowe plays with his salt and pepper hair. “Carlton, you know I feel exactly the same way. But babe… Lily thinks you’re mad at _her.”_

He jerks up, twisting around to a sitting position. “Of course not. Never. Confused as to why the hell she would, ah, you know, but not mad. I can’t be.”

Marlowe kisses his shoulder- the closest part of him to her lips. “So go tell her that. You know she’s lying awake tonight.”

Her husband drops his head to give her a kiss. “I absolutely will.”

\---

Jake can’t sleep. After an hour of so of tossing and turning, he does what he always does on the bad nights, be it after a nightmare of when he’d been kidnapped, the night after his mom had gotten shot, or just a bad storm that shakes the house a little too much. He grabs his pillow and leaves his room for the one right next to it, which belongs to his parents.

As with every other time he’s ventured into their room in the middle of the night, his mom and dad are sleeping twined tightly around each other. He shoves lightly at someone’s shoulder- it’s dark and they’re, dare he say it, cuddling, he can’t tell who’s who- and his mother’s voice responds.

“What’s going on?”

Jake swallows, feeling very much like a little kid again. “Can I sleep in here tonight?”

They don’t quite all three fit, but of course, Juliet’s answer is yes. And if Shawn grumbles a little more about it, well, he hugs him twice as tight once they get situated.

“We love you, Jake,” Juliet whispers, stroking his curls. “Nothing can ever change that.”

Shawn nods, and Jake can feel his chin hitting his shoulder. “It’s like those things you study in your physics class- constants of the universe, and all that. Like gravity.”

Jake laughs quietly. “Gravity isn’t a constant, Dad.”

“I’ve heard it both ways.”

His mother tries to smack his father but ends up getting both of them. “Go to sleep, both of you. I love you dearly. Goodnight.”

Shawn and Jake burst into laughter, but manage to calm themselves. “Goodnight.”

\---

The window next to Lily’s bed just so happens to be placed right where she can see the moon as she’s falling asleep every night. Normally, she pulls her curtain all the way closed, but tonight, she’s opened it a bit and is watching the pale disk travel the night sky. She can’t sleep, anyway, so the moonlight won’t keep her up.

A soft knock sounds at her door, and the teen unfurls herself from the fetal position to sit up a bit. “Come in.”

“Hey, Lily,” her father murmurs. “Can’t sleep?”

She flops back into her pillows. “I wonder why.” She avoids looking in his direction, but she does hear him pad softly over to her, and she feels him sit on the edge of her bed.

“I love you,” he assures her. “I’m not mad at you. I couldn’t be.”

Lily blinks back tears, rolling over to look at her dad. “Seems like you are.”

Carlton shakes his head. “No, Lily, I’m not. I’m shocked, and frustrated, and confused, and a little disappointed, but not mad. And none of this, not a single bit of it, will ever make me love you any less.”

“I’m scared, Dad,” she admits, feeling the tears come closer and closer. ‘I’m scared of what’ll happen if I abort this baby, and I’m scared of what’ll happen if I keep it, and I don’t know- I don’t know what scares me more,” she manages, beginning to sob.

Her father scoots closer. “Shhhhhhh. It’s okay. You’re alright, Lily. Everything’s going to be just fine. I promise you we’ll work this out.”

Lily doesn’t know how long she cries. She can’t tell when the tears fade and sleep overcomes her. But her father stays with her the whole night. The next morning, when she wakes up, he’s snoring next to her, one arm protectively reaching for her shoulder. She thinks again of what he’d told her, what he’d promised.

_I could never love you any less._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some fluff to make up for the angst last chapter :)


	5. Nothing Like This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily has her first doctor's appointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not updating last week, guys, I was celebrating xmas with my family. Happy New Year, and here's the first chapter of 2020!

Marlowe helps Lily make a doctor’s appointment for when they estimate she’ll be about eight weeks along. “We probably should’ve had you going to an OB/GYN sooner,” she admits, pressing a kiss to Lily’s head.

Lily shrugs. “Whatever. It is what it is. So… I have to decide by the thirtieth?”

“Yes you do,” her mother confirms. “You’ve got a week or so. It’s a big decision, but remember: we’re all here for you.”

Lily accepts a hug from her mother but soon retreats to her room. And when she’s not at school or at Jake’s house, she pretty much stays there for the next week.

The Thursday before her Saturday appointment, Lily arrives at the Spencer house, but Jake is out for a run. “You can still hang out if you want,” Zoe offers, grabbing two Sprites from the fridge. “Sarah and I are playing Jenga upstairs. Want a Sprite?”

Lily stays still for a moment, considering, and then nods. “Sure, thanks. Or ginger ale, if you have any.”

The three girls all end up upstairs, stacking the small wooden blocks and pulling them out of the stack. For a full two games, they ignore the elephant in the room, but as Sarah is setting up the third game, she speaks.

“Are you really pregnant?”

Lily’s first instinct is to roll her eyes and reply sarcastically, but this is Sarah. Sarah is kind and compassionate and even if she asks something that shouldn’t be asked, she does it in a way that makes it seem calm and reasonable. And although she’s not technically the baby of the group, there are days when she seems younger than Rory and Leo. So Lily keeps her response cordial and even offers a soft smile. “Yeah, I am. Not really sure how that’s gonna work out.”

Zoe pulls the first block, from the corner of the top layer. Lily curses. “Spencer, you dumbass, you can’t start with the top layer! That’s against the rules!”

“Bite me, Lassiter!”

“Oh, you wanna start?”

“Guys,” Sarah interrupts, “it doesn’t even matter. The person who stacked goes first. It’s my turn.”

They play on for a while, though it’s mostly just talking. Sarah’s question has opened the floodgates of Zoe’s endless curiosity, although she’s not as bad as Lily had expected.

“How far along are you?”

“Uh, seven weeks? I think?”

“What does it feel like?”

“At the moment, a really bad flu.”

“Are you craving things yet?”

“I crave sleep.”

Sarah laughs. “Mood.”

Lily removes a block from the tower. This game is the longest one yet. And then it’s Zoe’s turn.

Instead of scooting closer, she gets up on her knees and leans over. “I got this,” she mutters, wiggling forward. Her knee knocks over the Sprite can, which spills Sprite all over everything, and also knocks over the Jenga tower.

Sarah blinks. “You lose.”

\---

Karen Vick has long since gotten used to teenagers in her office. First it was her own daughter, and then the occasional child of an officer whose childcare situation had changed at the last minute, and then all of a sudden, between two detectives and two consultants, there were seven children who all enjoyed using her office for everything from homework to private conversations- or in today’s case, both at once.

Karen doesn’t make it a habit of eavesdropping on them, but Lassiter had specifically requested she keep Lily and Jake from getting to close. She’s certainly not doing that- she even lets them lie on top of each other on her couch- but she does keep an ear out to make sure their murmured conversation stays appropriate. She’s not really listening, however.

And then Lily Lassiter says something that makes her start listening.

“Jake, what would you say if I told you I wanted to keep the baby?”

Karen raises an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t say anything. I would just do this.” Jake kisses her, which Karen should be objecting to, but she doesn’t. This isn’t her conversation to intrude on.

Lily blinks at Jake. Karen notices that she has a smile similar to her father’s, like she’s pleasantly surprised that life is going well. “So… I guess that’s a good reaction?”

“Yep. If you want to have a baby, I will absolutely help you in any way I can.”

_He’s incredibly mature for a sixteen year old. The kid must get it from his mother._

“I love you,” Lily says with a laugh. “I love you so much.”

The kissing gets more intense, and Karen decides it’s time to interrupt. She clears her throat. “Easy there.”

Lily squeaks and scrambles into a sitting position, apparently kneeing Jake in a very uncomfortable spot, judging by his grimace. “Have you been there this whole time!?”

“Well, it is my office.”

Lily blushes bright red. Jake rubs a hand awkwardly over the back of his neck.

“Ms. Lassiter, your father wanted me to keep you two from so much as looking at each other, so count this as a blessing. Speaking of which, I’m assuming your parents all know about this.”

“Oh yeah. They know.”

Jake scoffs. “Like I could keep a secret this big.”

Karen makes another connection. “Is this why Carlton and Juliet have been standoffish toward each other all week?”

Lily makes a face. “Yeah. I kinda feel bad about it. I’ve never seen them more than just annoyed at each other.”

Jake nods in agreement. “My dad says they haven’t argued like they did since Uncle Carlton found out he wasn’t psychic.”

Karen’s eyebrows go up. She was there for that- if this most recent fight had been on that level, it was a miracle her detectives were still speaking to each other. She makes a noise of discontent and goes back to her paperwork. “Don’t worry. I’m sure this will all work out.”

\---

Lily looks up at Jake from where she’s lying on his bed, curled into a miserable ball. “Are you sure you have to go?”

Jake groans and runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, Lil, I do. I signed up for this trip before… any of this.”

“I know,” she whines, the word dragging out. “Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Lily sighs. “You can’t control the trip dates. You can’t control when the appointment is. God, we can’t control any of this.” She lays a hand on her stomach. “I feel sick.”

Jake sits on the edge of the bed and lays his hand over hers. “I’m sorry you feel bad. I’m especially sorry if any of it is because of me.”

She raises an eyebrow. “I know you mean about the trip, but technically, this is all half your fault.”

He concedes the point with a head tilt. “That’s fair. Do you want me to rub your back or something?”

Lily considers it, but she’s so nauseous at the moment that even just his gentle hand on hers is making it worse. “Not right now. Maybe when I inevitably run to the toilet to puke.”

Jake makes a sympathetic noise and begins playing with her hair. “I love you so much, Lil. You know that, don’t you?”

“I know, Jake.” She reaches for his hand and gives it a squeeze. “I love you too.”

\---

Lily tucks her hair behind her ear, and then twists a strand around her finger, and then tucks it behind her ear again. “Mom, people are staring at me,” she whispers.

Marlowe looks up from her magazine, taking Lily’s hand in hers. “No they aren’t, honey. Don’t worry. You’re going to be just fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah I do.” Marlowe kisses Lily’s forehead. “You’re going to get through this because you’re brave, and kind, and smart, and because you have me and Jake and our whole family on your side.”

Lily feels a bit better after the pep talk. She wishes she could curl up against her mother and let herself be soothed by a hug, but they’re seated on two separate plastic waiting room chairs.

“You got this, Lily.” Marlowe ruffles Lily’s hair, and they both laugh, Lily trying in vain to fix the damage. She barely manages to part her hair correctly before a nurse appears.

“Lily Lassiter?”

With a deep breath, Lily stands and walks toward the door. “That’s me.”

\---

It’s not so bad, at first. Really, it feels like a normal doctor’s appointment. Lily gets her blood pressure and height and weight measured. The nurse draws some blood. She’s gained a few pounds, which is a good thing. It’s not until she’s sitting in the exam room, holding a cup that she’s supposed to pee in, that anything really feels different.

“The bathroom is right around the corner,” the nurse informs her. “I’ll be back to collect the sample in a few minutes. Your doctor should be in shortly.”

Lily wrinkles her nose but does as she’s asked, and then she sits on the crinkly white paper and swings her leps. “I wish Jake was here.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Marlowe’s smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure he does too. You could text him, if you wanted.”

Lily does. _How’s the trip?_

In reply, she gets a selfie of Jake in front of a statue of some historical figure. **Could be worse. Are u at the doctor?**

_yeah_

**!!!**   
**How’s it going?**

_fine i guess_   
_wish u were here_

****:( me too ily** **

_love you too_

Just after she hits send, the door opens. In walks a smiling woman in a white coat with a nametag that reads _Luisa Alfonso._ Lily sits up straight, despite the fact that her first instinct is to curl into herself and stare at the ground.

“Hi, Lily,” greets Dr. Alfonso, offering a hand. “How are you feeling today?”

Lily shakes her hand. “Uh, nervous. Nauseous, achy… all that.”

Her doctor nods. “Completely understandable. Now, I understand you’ve already taken an at-home test, so the bloodwork won’t come as a surprise. Congratulations, Miss Lassiter, you’re pregnant.”

Lily raises an eyebrow. “Mhm. Not entirely sure it’s a congratulatory event.”

Dr. Alfonso takes a seat on the circular wheeled stool. “Well, let’s talk.” She sets a clipboard with a pen in her lap, but doesn’t pick it up. “Are you aware of the options you have as of now?”

Lily nods. “I keep the baby, I abort it, I adopt it out.”

“Exactly. And we can provide you with resources for all of those options. I can give you a few minutes if you need-”

Already shaking her head, Lily interrupts. “No. I’ve been thinking for a while. I want to keep the baby.” She looks to her mother for reassurance; Marlowe is smiling softly, pride in her eyes. Lily feels infinitely better.

“Well, then,” replies the doctor, “Let’s discuss your symptoms.”

\---

The ultrasound is the best part, in Lily’s opinion. She’d been feeling mostly miserable for the first part of the appointment, but when she makes it to the ultrasound, all of that is replaced by wonder, and an overwhelming sense of love.

The image onscreen is small and black and white but clear. The heartbeat pulses quietly from the speakers. Lily feels herself smile as she sees the tiny, bean-shaped person she’s growing. As she watches, limbs with developing hands and feet wiggle around. She gasps.

“They’re already moving,” she whispers, awe flooding her tone.

The ultrasound tech nods. “Your fetus has been moving its limbs for a while now. As far as we can tell, development is going well. At this stage, the fetus grows about a millimeter each day.”

Lily giggles. “It’s so tiny!”

The technician raises an eyebrow. “Mhm. Well, you’ve got a healthy baby growing inside you. That’s all we really need to check on today.”

Lily frowns. “Um, well, do I get a printout of the ultrasound?”

The tech sighs and hits a few buttons. “Coming right up. We can get you cleaned up while it prints.”

Lily watches her baby and listens to its heartbeat until the tech removes the probe and the screen goes back. For the first time, she feels confident in her decision. Yes, raising a baby at sixteen will be hard, but she has no doubt that keeping this baby is the best choice for her.

She’s not showing yet, of course not, but as she looks down and rests a hand on her belly, she thinks it’s a bit softer, that it contrasts a bit to the rest of her bony figure. Smiling, she rests her hand where the probe had been, and now she _knows_ her hand is over her child.

“I love you,” Lily whispers. “I promise I’ll keep you safe. I love you.”


	6. Miss Americana

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jake returns from his school trip to some very happy news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a snow day again!!!!

Juliet hands her partner a mug of coffee and gets a case file in return. Carlton had gotten the better end of that deal. “Is your family doing anything tonight?”

“I wouldn’t know, I’m stuck chasing an identity thief on a sunday morning.”

“Oh, come on, Carlton, you know we’ll be out of here by three,” Juliet insists. “You and Marlowe and Lily should come to our place for dinner. We can watch a family movie afterwards. Shawn’s inviting the Gusters, too.”

“Naturally,” he sighs. Suddenly, he pauses, looking at her through narrowed eyes. “Your son is coming home tonight.”

“Yes. He is. And your daughter will want to talk to him.”

Carlton groans. “God, Juliet, how are you so calm about this!? You cannot tell me that you are pleased to be a grandmother at the age of fifty.”

“No, Carlton, I am not. But there is nothing you or I can do about it now. And I know you. I know that’s part of why you’re having so much trouble with this. But we both know that the best thing we can do for Jake and Lily right now is to be there and support them and love them, like always.”

“I know,” he sighs. “Yeah. I know. Alright. Dinner. You want us over at six?”

\---

Lily barely makes it into the Spencer house before her aunt is wrapping her in a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Lily,” she says. “I’d be proud no matter what decision you made. This is a hard thing to do, and I admire you for doing it.”

“Thanks,” Lily manages, her words muffled by the hug.

Her father walks past, and she hears him laugh. “She gives the best hugs, doesn’t she?”

Without leaving Juliet’s arms, Lily turns to give him a grin. “Totally.” She looks back at her aunt. “What’s for dinner?”

\---

Sitting between her parents, Lily watches some superhero movie that’s as old as Rory and Leo. Her attention is diverted when her uncle stands and stretches. “Alright, I’m gonna go get Jake.”

Lily perks up. “Can I come with you?”

Shawn shrugs. “Fine with me. What do you say, Lassieface?”

Lily glances nervously at her father, but his face doesn’t betray much. “Sure, I guess. They have things to talk about.” He glances up at Shawn. “Do not, under any circumstance, let them sit in the backseat together.”

Lily groans, embarrassed. _”Dad.”_

“Your dad’s right, Lil. Your backseat privileges have been revoked. No funky business.” Shawn tickles her arm gently.

Lily briefly contemplates if seeing Jake sooner will make it worth dealing with her uncle’s sense of humor and decides that it will. “Alright, fine. Let’s go.”

It’s not too far of a drive to school, but of course, it doesn’t take long for Shawn to look over at her in the passenger seat, a scrutinizing expression on his face.

“How’s it going, Lil? How are you doing? How’s my grandkid?” He pauses, fingers drumming the steering wheel. “Grandkid. Jesus, that’s crazy.”

Lily nods in agreement, her fingers brushing over the loose fabric of her t-shirt. “I’m good. I’m happy, you know? I haven’t been happy. But now… now that I’ve decided? I’m excited.”

Shawn grins, chuckling a bit. ‘That’s great, Lily. Obviously this whole situation is crazy, but if you’re happy and healthy that means we, as uncles and aunts and parents, are doing our job.”

Lily gives him a sideways grin. “I’m gonna need some pointers.”

“Oh, and you’ll get plenty of them.” He turns into the school parking lot. “Ready to tell Jake the good news?”

\---

Jake is rolling his suitcase towards his family’s Ford Explorer when he sees his girlfriend. Lily rushes toward him and throws her arms around his neck, so of course, he lets the luggage roll down the sidewalk and holds her close instead.

“I missed you so much,” she murmurs in between kisses.

Jake gets a particularly deep kiss in before his father gets close enough to reprimand them. “God, I missed you too.”

Lily beams. “Do you wanna see the sonogram?”

“Of course! You really have a picture of our baby?”

She nods and pulls the image from her pocket. “See? You can see the head, and a bit of the face, and the tiny little arms and legs…”

Jake grins, ready with a hundred more questions, but someone shows up beside them.

Thomas Bradley is well on his way to becoming valedictorian, and already dislikes Lily because she’s close to beating him for that title. He does not need anymore ammo against her.

“Could you two not wait a few more minutes for disgusting displays of affection? Hey, what are you looking at there?”

Lily hides the photo, scowling dangerously. “Your mom, Thomas.”

“Crass, Lily, crass. Another example of why I deserve to be valedictorian.”

Jake folds his arms. “Yeah? If you deserve it, why has she been beating you for the past three weeks?”

Thomas sniffs. “Whatever. Your grades are falling, anyway, Lily. And I will absolutely rise to the occasion.”

He stalks off, leaving Jake nearly vibrating with anger. “What a prick.”

“God, you know that’s right.” Lily drags him off, and he follows her obediently to the car. His dad rejoins them, carrying the runaway suitcase.

“Hey, who was that?”

“Thomas Bradley,” Jake answers.

“Who’s he?”

Lily scoffs. “He’s nobody. Just some rude know-it-all who thinks he can beat me for valedictorian.”

Shawn laughs. “No way. Nobody’s gonna beat out our Lily.”

Jake’s enthusiastic agreement echoes through the lot as they climb into the car.

\---

Marlowe is carrying laundry from the laundry room down the hall to her bedroom when she hears Lily call to her from the bathroom. “Mom?”

She pauses outside the door. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

“Um, is there supposed to be blood in my underwear?”

Marlowe sets down the laundry. “Depends on how much. Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

She enters to find her daughter sitting on the toilet, her expression concerned as she stares at the fabric stretched between her knees. “It’s not a lot, but…”

Marlowe comes closer. “Is it all blood or just bloody discharge?”

“I think just the discharge. A little bit of blood. Like, spotting, I think.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much. Light spotting is a common symptom in the first trimester. It’s caused by a sensitive cervix.” She raises an eyebrow. “Sometimes it can happen after sex… but I certainly hope that’s not the case here.”

Lily shakes her head. “It’s not. We’ve only been _together_ together the one time. But I kinda wish it was… then I’d know why.”

Marlowe kisses her daughter’s head. “Lily, I’m sure you’re fine. If you’d like, we can call Dr. Alfonso. But unless this keeps happening, or more blood shows up, I wouldn’t worry.”

Lily leans into her. “Okay. I trust you.” She stands and pulls her pants up, then washes her hands. “I’m gonna go to bed, Mom. Goodnight. I love you.”

“Love you too, honey. Say goodnight to your father before you hit the sack.”

Marlowe retrieves the laundry, but looks back at Lily one more time. “Lily?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m proud of you. You’re being so brave. I love you.”

Lily smiles. “I love you too.”


	7. Sick Day

Lily’s first class is AP Environmental Science. Today is a work class, which means she gets to do the textbook reading and take her notes and then use them for a reading quiz. High payoff, low effort. An abnormality in this class, yes, but good for this particular day. Why? Because Lily feels so sick that she can barely make it through the reading part.

Admittedly, her cramps are nowhere near as bad as they get on her period. But the dull, twinging ache, coupled with horrible nausea and a headache, likely from dehydration, makes her totally miserable. Basic facts she’s known since the ninth grade take two, three, four minutes to settle in her brain long enough for her to write them on the page.

She makes it through APES, though barely. Fifteen minutes into English, she sets down her pencil, ignores the worksheet on clause types and uses, and walks up to her teacher’s desk. “Ms. Rosen,” she asks quietly, “can I go to the nurse? I’m- I’ve got bad lady problems this month.”

Her English teacher gives her a sympathetic look. “Of course, Lily. You know, sometimes she’s stingy with her ibuprofen… I have some in my desk, if you’d like.”

Lily thinks for a bit, but she can’t remember if ibuprofen is safe while pregnant or not. She shakes her head. “No, I’ve, um, got some in my bag. “I’ll take it on the way.”

Ms. Rosen nods. “You know, we’re just doing grammar today, and then reading. You’re a good student; I know you’ll stay on top of things. I can appreciate that there are days when you just need to lie down for a bit. Why don’t you take your stuff with you and just rest until lunch?”

Lily smiles gratefully, though she feels like she could cry at the simple kindness being shown to her. There’s a reason English is one of her favorite classes. “Thanks, I think I will. I’ll get the papers off Blackboard and do the reading later,” she promises. With that, she grabs her bag and her notebook and hurries from the room. After a quick detour to dry heave into a toilet (she’d thrown up her breakfast hours before) she heads for the nurse’s office.

_Ms. Rosen is right. I just need some rest. I’ll be fine for the last two classes of the day._

\---

Through the virtue of high school gossip, Jake learns that Lily is in the nurse’s office when he heads to lunch. Naturally, he abandons Zoe and Matthew and heads straight there.

“Jake! I need to steal your goldfish!”

“Pack your own goldfish, Zoe!” Jake jogs down the hall and the stairs, quickly arriving at the school clinic.

“Jake, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see if you were okay.” 

She groans. “Well. I’ve been better. But I’m fine, Jake. You don’t have to worry about me.”

He sits on the edge of the bed and offers her his hand. “What’s the matter, Lil? Do you just feel sick, or?”

She casts a nervous glance toward the nurse, but she’s clearly not listening. Still, Lily lowers her voice. “It’s just the usual, Jake. Nausea, cramps, headache, et cetera. I mean, I’m about nine weeks, now, and that’s supposed to be the worst…”

Jake leans over to kiss her gently. “Are you sure you don’t wanna take a half day or something?”

She shakes her head, scowling. “I’ll be fine by next block. Go have lunch. I’ll see you in programming.”

Jake frowns. “If you’re sure…”

“I’m sure.” She flops back onto the cot. Jake tries not to take it personally, but he can’t help but feel a little hurt. Sighing, he leaves the clinic and pulls out his phone. His mother picks up on the second ring.

_”Detective Spencer.”_

“Hey, Mom, it’s me.”

_”Jake! Is something the matter?”_

“No. Well, yeah, but not with me. It’s just, uh, Lily’s in the nurse’s office, and she feels horrible. She says it’s normal for, you know, but, um, I can’t help thinking she’d be more comfortable resting at home.”

_”That’s very thoughtful of you, Jake. Did you ask her?”_

“Yeah, and she basically refused. She’s too stubborn.”

His mother hums. _”Well, I’ll talk to Carlton. I don’t doubt that she could use a day off.”_

\---

Carlton Lassiter strides into the front office of the school in full detective mode-- chin up, shoulders squared, intimidating as can be. “My daughter is sick, I’m here to pick her up.”

“Name?”

“Carlton Lassiter.”

“You’re clear. Lily is in the clinic just around the corner.”

With a brusque nod, he follows the directions and quickly finds the small room. It smells of antiseptic. He enters quietly. “Lily?”

She barely lifts her head at his voice. “Dad? What are you doing here?”

Carlton steps closer, close enough to see how ill and miserable she looks. “I’m taking you home, sweetheart. C’mon, let’s go.”

Lily pouts. “I have class…”

He shakes his head. “Not like this, you don’t.” Pausing, he considers. “Do you want me to carry you?”

She sits up, turning bright red. “Dad, I’m not a little girl-”

“You’re my little girl. Do you want me to carry you or not?”

Lily nods. “Yeah. Moving makes everything worse.”

Carlton’s heart aches for his daughter, but he knows he’s doing everything he can to help her. “Alright, c’mere.”

He lifts her into his arms, and although it’s not as easy as it once was, he’d gladly carry her up a thousand flights of stairs if it would make her feel better. He kisses her cheek. “Let’s go home, Lily. Let’s go home.”

\---

It has been a long time since Carlton has had to deal with a pregnant woman, and all that entails. It’s been over sixteen years since his wife had been pregnant, and somewhere around twelve since his partner’s most recent pregnancy. Still, he knows the drill.

In theory. He knows the drill in theory.

Unfortunately, his memories have blurred and faded and are of little use when he’s confronted with a crying teenager, curled in a ball on her bed. Carlton sighs and runs a hand through his hair. _Marlowe is at work. Do not call her for this. You can handle it by yourself._

“Lily, do you want a blanket?”

All he gets is a pained groan. Carlton turns from the room and heads to the bathroom, opening the medicine cabinet. There’s a sticky note on the inside with a list of meds Lily can and can’t take. He grabs the Tylenol and the trash can and heads back to Lily’s room.

“Honey, do you want some Tylenol?”

She opens one eye. “Can I take it while I’m pregnant?”

He nods. “Tylenol’s safe. Unfortunately, Zofran is not, but I brought a trash can in here if you need it.”

Lily takes the Tylenol with a small sip of water, then winces. “Dad, I feel really sick. I dunno if this’ll stay down.”

He sits on the bed and rubs her back. “I’m sorry, Lily. I’m doing my best here. You know I don’t want you hurting in any way.”

She curls into his side. “I know.”

“Can you tell me how I can help? Do you want me to stay here? Do you want soup or toast?”

She grimaces. “I really do not want food. I’m tired. I want a nap.”

Carlton nods and rubs her back some more, humming an old lullaby. He pauses to kiss the top of Lily’s head. “The try to get some shut-eye, Lily. I’ll be here when you wake up.”


End file.
